Albuquerque’s ABC affiliate swabbed and tested several men’s beards and found that while some beards contained normal bacteria, others’ beards contained bacteria similar to those found in fecal matter.

John Golobic, a microbiologist at Quest Diagnostics, tested material swabbed from the beards and found that they were basically as “dirty as toilets.”

Not all the beards Golobic tested contained fecal matter–like bacteria. But the ones that did, he said, were “somewhat disturbing.”

And Golobic also wants people to keep in mind that most things you touch — including your cell phone, your kitchen sponge, and your toothbrush — harbor tons of germs.
So a little beard poop is pretty par for the course.